In a Civilized Manner

The [FINAL EXAM] countdown continued, yet all eyes were fixed on the seven-year-old standing on the table.

"Take a good at yourselves. What has become of you all?" Ives said. "Three months ago, we entered MW Academy as upstanding students, the future pillars of society. But look at you all now."

She swept the room with a gaze full of pity.

"You're cautious. Afraid. And so you obey because it will help you avoid punishment. You obey because it is the easy way out."

Ives wasn't good at raising her voice.

Growing up with Darcie, she was accustomed to her sister's soft-spokenness and mild disposition. At the time, she was also too weak; arguing against adults would only worsen her punishment.

However, the seven-year-old had been practicing.

She was told not to be afraid. Especially of her own voice.

It's yours, after all.

Edris had said to her with a shrug.

He'd went on to call it a "free weapon."

You'd be surprised at how much it can do.

Normally, her words wouldn't even make a dent in the students, and even now, the reactions were mixed. Some looked at her in bafflement, speculating whether she had gone insane due to stress or due to a loss of [AFFINITY]. Others observed her in puzzlement, unsure of where she was going with this.

But regardless, they were looking.

Gathered at the front of the room, Magenta watched on in amusement. It was no secret that No. 112 was closely acquainted with No. 111. Chances were that the latter had ordered her to do this.

However, all efforts would prove to be futile.

Magenta didn't know where she got the speaker, but bringing in additional items was obviously a violation of the rules and policies. Her current series of actions was no doubt a threat to the Labyrinth, a threat to order.

No. 112 was done for.

At least, that was what she'd thought.

Magenta's eyes narrowed.

"…Why aren't the Shadows moving?" Sky's comment was like a bucket of ice water, descending upon them all as they swerved to look at the patches of black spread throughout the lecture hall.

Something was off.

"Rules, rules, rules. This shouldn't be the entirety of our being. We are more than just rule-obeying slaves to this place." Ives enunciated every pre-scripted word with utmost clarity. "The academy is a place for students; it is made for us, it sees us as leaders of the future.”

Leaders of the future.

Indeed, those were the exact words the Principal had used two months ago to rile up the anticipation from the crowd.

Quite ironic that, two months later, those exact same words were now used against him.

"Don’t you all see? It’s the academy that needs us—not the other way around."

Her words instigated a wave of contemplation among the students.

The air in the room was clearly changing, and everyone felt it. Ives continued to make eye contact with as many as possible.

The Shadows, too, were listening.

"How?" Moss couldn't fathom the scene unfolding before his eyes.

Although Ives was tiny, her voice drummed against their ears with absurd profundity. The remnants of her voice lingered and were replaced by new ones before the previous could even disperse.

As time passed, they found themselves unable to peel their eyes away from her.

A mere child.

Yet it was this child that managed to hold captive every one of their gazes. She was the only one that they could see.

"We should be the ones leading the future, not the ones being led," Ives said. "Don't you think the same?"

Her words were like arrows aimed directly at their hearts, igniting a sea of flames along its entire trajectory.

As Ives uttered her final few words, a message appeared in the corner of her vision.

SLOT 1: [LOUDSPEAKERS]

USAGE: Create and design any type of speaker you want! Once you link your voice to the speaker, your words will have ten times more impact than usual and capture the undivided attention of all within a five-meter radius for 90 seconds.

"Mwahaha! A salesperson's ultimate weapon!"

# OF USAGE REMAINING: 0/1

The card [LOUDSPEAKERS] has been exhausted! It is now your typical speaker.

[SLOT 1] is now empty.

As the card exhausted itself, Ives couldn't help but recall last night when everyone had gathered in Room 604 for a final run-through of the plan.

"At the current stage, everyone is physically and mentally reaching their breaking point." Edris sat cross-legged, back leaning by the edge of his bed. "This is where the herd begins to form."

"Herd?" Ives blinked.

The man gave her a nod. "When the outcome is looking bleak and all odds seem to be against them, people tend to find it easiest to follow the herd and adhere to pre-existing rules to avoid further punishment.

"To others, it’s natural progression. To us, it's the crucial turning point."

"Will we be breaking the herd apart?" Celio asked, a tinge of excitement in his voice.

"Too much work." Edris shook his head.

The Labyrinth prioritized both order and destruction. Although paradoxical, the two ultimately led to the same goal, that is, control.

Control of their behaviour, configuration of their way of thinking. The Labyrinth’s role was to form a collective mentality by drilling its rules into the students' minds as laws of nature. In achieving a thorough holding over the mind, the masses would become completely domesticated and at its disposal.

"All we need to do then"—Edris said with a smile—"is to take their role as ours."

On the table was a pile of candies that Celio had grabbed from the cafeteria. The dark-haired man split them into two piles.

"Losers will join the herd, whereas winners will break them apart."

"But for us, our role is to be owners," Edris said, taking in the group’s reaction. Owners manipulate the herd. They learn to use them to their advantage."

In a situation like this, what would be a better weapon than the mass's wrath?

As long as one, just one sheep would wander astray from the rest of the herd after hearing Ives’s speech, that would suffice as the opening to the rest of the plan.

All they needed was one.

"Well said!"

The voice pulled her mind back to the present. Only then Ives noticed that aside from herself, a second person had shot up from her seat.

The student was near the front of the room. Her high ponytail swung side to side as she raised her hands into a sonorous clap.

No. 39 gave her a grin.

"Your voice was loud and clear. Well said!" She said to Ives, then turned to look at the other students. "No. 112 is right. We're here to learn and grow as future leaders, not to be controlled like livestock!"

Even without the speaker box, her voice was vibrant and robust. As she spoke, her passion seemed contagious, rushing through the student body like a whirlwind.

No. 39—though Ives still preferred to call her Alicia—was an excellent public speaker. She naturally took over the baton, and with her help, the tide was slowly turning beneath the surface.

More and more students stood up, joining Alicia in her hollers. They threw their arms into the air.

"Enough of the exams!"

"Return us our freedom!"

The Shadows floated about, looking confused. Their job was to remove any students reported to have cheated until there were only fifty left standing or at the end of the countdown.

However, if they had acted now, there would have been less than fifty students left in the room. This outcome would run counter to the Labyrinth's settings.

The situation was a stalemate.

"Quiet! What do you think you're all doing?" Moss attempted to reestablish order, but one of the students only scoffed at him.

Under Moss's incredulous gaze, she threw her pen onto the ground.

Ink exploded against the hard floor, breaking out like the bottled anxieties that haunted the students—both native and players—for the past three months.

Ives watched as students followed after her. Dozens of pens splattered onto the ground, intermixing with the shredded test papers and drenching the maroon tiles black.

All we needed was one.

She thought back to Edris's words. They were unfolding into reality right before her eyes.

The seven-year-old felt dazed, staring at the ensuing chaos and then at the woman across the lecture hall.

Though untimely, she thought about how before she became assimilated, Alicia was also a wonderful storyteller. Perhaps it was because of how young Ives looked, but the woman always treated her like a child.

The lights would be off, and they would be in their separate beds, tucked in the blanket. Then Alicia would recite "bedtime stories" to her until either one of them fell asleep, although it was almost always Alicia herself.

Although Ives didn't show it, she found the tales amusing. But thinking back, it was probably because Alicia was the one who told them.

The image of Alicia coincided with No. 39 in the present.

Despite students wreaking havoc in the lecture hall, Magenta stood her ground. Her whole attention was on the dark-haired man in the back row.

Sitting by the window, the person behind all this chaos was staring aloofly out the window, as if the riot had nothing to do with him.

Edris stared outwards, aimed at the hill in the distance. Magenta's eyes were fixed on his every move, so she caught the subtle shift immediately and followed his gaze.

However, it was too late.

A loud rumble exploded in the distance, carrying its wrath along the hilly grounds. If the current uproar was considered chaotic, if Edris blowing up [DETENTION] had seemed outlandish, both of the events now paled in comparison to the sight occurring on the outside.

The music tower was falling.

Despite the chaos outside, a strange silence had befell within the lecture hall.

Students who had been struggling against the Shadows and other professors all paused and turned towards the source of the explosion. Even though they were witnessing the tower's descent with their own eyes, it seemed impossible for their brains to process the situation.

The tower, once pristine and holy like a gleaming midnight star, was bending into itself like a shrivelling sandcastle.

The windows protecting the building clattered almost simultaneously, fighting against the gusts of wind and debris threatening to enter the interior. Only when the windows all around the lecture hall began shaking did the situation finally hit them as reality.

The star had fallen.

Yet the light didn't disappear. It was immediately replaced by a series of brighter, more colourful lights.

"Are those…" No. 39 dropped the pen she had held out as a weapon and squinted her eyes. Dozens of students shared her reaction.

"Fireworks?"

The students simply stood there in silent astonishment.

A dash of light burst through the smoke caused by the explosion. It shot through like an arrow and, under the colourful bursts of fireworks, emerged from obscurity like a streak of golden light.

This time, even the professors were dumbfounded.

It was the [BELL].

The impact of the tower's explosion had sent the tower's [BELL] flying right their way.

However, it didn't end there.

"Someone's on there!" A student pointed outwards.

With one foot planted on the inside curve of the [BELL] 's surface and the other supporting from behind, Celio ripped through the smoke and clouds. His golden hair flew behind him, almost blending with the [BELL] itself.

The wind and dust pushed past his eyes, blurring his visual field. However, he could see the update on his interface with utmost clarity.

SLOT 2: [NO. 12'S FIREWORKS]

USAGE: This condensed bomb has the potential to blow up an entire building! In addition to its impact, the creator has implanted a series of fireworks to occur simultaneously for the optimal viewing experience.

"As a future alchemist—I am telling you this will be the prettiest, craziest fireworks performance ever!"

# OF USAGE REMAINING: 0/1

The card [NO. 12'S FIREWORKS] has been exhausted! Hope you enjoyed the performance.

[SLOT 2] is now empty.

Both of his hands gripped the clapper of the [BELL], holding it in its place. If it weren't for the [SNEAKERS] card holding him steady, he would have long fallen from the surface.

Three hundred.

One hundred.

Fifty.

The [BELL] was on a parabolic trajectory. As it entered the fifty-meter radius from the academic building, Celio peered upwards to the floor of the [FINAL EXAM]. The gust threatened to blow through his eyeballs, so it was impossible to see clearly through the windows, yet he knew they were watching.

He knew Edris was watching.

Forcing himself against the wind, Celio raised both of his arms into the air, pulling the clapper up with them.

Then, with all his strength, he threw it down.

RINGGGGGGGGGGG—

PLAYER [CELIO] 'S MAIN QUEST:

Blow up the music tower!

TIME LIMIT: 00:01:23:55

Updating [MAIN QUEST] status now…

[MAIN QUEST] status updated!

Congratulations! You have completed the [MAIN QUEST]!

Updating [PLAYER PROFILE] now…

A sonorous ring reverberated throughout the entire field. It melded in with the debris and hollers, past the hills and buildings, and right into the ears of the living.

The world came to a stop.

Both students and professors dropped what they were doing and entered the same pose.

Their hands clasped together and rose to the centre of their chest.

Rule #2:

Harmony is a celebrated feature of MW Academy! But while we take pride in our diversity, we also avoid unnecessary distinctions among students to minimise conflict. To keep a unified school atmosphere, please ensure you are wearing your uniforms at all times, recite the MW Anthem every morning, and immediately offer your prayers to Serenity at the sound of the music tower's [BELL].

Offer your prayers at the sound of the [BELL].

After nearly three months of conditioning, the command seemed ingrained in each of their minds as clasped hands went up one by one. Those who were slow to react were immediately seized by the Shadows. Their capture sparked a surge of delayed fear among the student body, and before they knew it, all were on their knees in praying positions.

But the next second, these ink-like figures looked around, seemingly at a loss.

Under normal circumstances, they would have to take them to the tower for [DETENTION], but the tower was now destroyed.

The Shadows wobbled from side to side, not knowing where their next step lay. The students they caught slipped from their clasps, but instead of attempting an escape, they only joined the crowd of prayers.

In the vast lecture hall, all heads were lowered except one.

Edris slowly rose from his seat.

SLOT 2: EARPLUGS

USAGE: Upon activation, the card user will lose their ability to hear anything for the next 90 seconds.

"Your unrequited love can't reject you if you can't hear in the first place!"

# OF USAGE REMAINING: 0/1

The card [EARPLUGS] has been exhausted! Time to embrace the world of silence.

[SLOT 2] is now empty.

The [EARPLUGS] remained tightly in his ears, blocking out the entirety of his surroundings.

Of course, that included the [BELL].

His steps were slow and steady. If it weren't for the state of everyone else around him, one might have taken his action as part of a mere afternoon stroll.

The dark-haired man weaved past the prayers, one row after another, until he reached the first row at the very front of the lecture hall.

Unlike the others, Owein didn't kneel. He sat quietly in his seat, eyes closed, and head lowered. Although he made no reaction to Edris's approach, the latter knew he could sense his presence.

Standing before him, Edris bent over, closing the distance between them.

He opened his mouth.